With the increased usage of voice mail, email, and intelligent communication devices in the home, there is a greater need to notify persons within a household that information is available. Currently, individual devices perform the notification function when a household user activates the individual devices. For instance, a notification mechanism operating on a computer may notify household members that an email message has arrived. An answering machine connected with a telephone may notify household members that a voice message has arrived.
Currently, no system exists for notifying household members of available information in a unified manner. For instance, while watching television or talking on the telephone, household members will be unaware of email that has been received. Household members using a computer or watching television may be unaware that a voice mail message has been recorded. Accordingly, a solution is needed that can notify a household member of available information regardless of the location and current activity of the household member and the nature or source of the newly received information.